Charlie Christian's 1941 jazz is so pulsating

The musical culture in this country has changed dramatically in the last decade or so. It is rather interesting how new music forms keep popping up and yet grand, cultural mainstays like jazz, classical, country and yes rock music continue to excite so many of us. In jazz it is good to go back and listen to more traditional-oriented jazz people. One of the most elegant and smooth guitar players I have ever had the pleasure of digging is the very suave Charlie Christian. I enjoy so much a particular Charlie Christian set, 'Live Sessions at Minton's Playhouse New York--May 1941. My word, this sophisticated 1941 melange of super sounds is thrilling and gets my creativity quotient beautifully elevated. On this set that I listened to today Charlie Christian is joined by some modern jazz pioneers like Dizzy Gillespie,(trumpet) Thelonious Monk (piano) and Kenny Clarke on drums. Also there is virile so passionate work on tenor saxophone by a fabulous saxophone guy, Don Byas. The musical pulsating panorama of Charlie Christian and his group just enthralls me. It is so grand to dig as many brands of great American music as one can because it brings so much good, tasty flavor to one's life. I used to be so amused because some friends said don't use words like "tasty" but really the word "tasty" so intrinsically brings home the spiced up zest of Charlie Christian's music and with the having a great time help of Dizzy, Monk and friends this form of listening experience is a really good brand of fun.

J.D. Salinger, a marvelous genius passes

J.D. Salinger, a literary genius, died today. I remember when I was a young guy how much the works of J.D. Salinger influenced me in every way. This brilliant man of the Northeast had a fantastic way with words. His "Holden C." in his 'Catcher in the Rye' was such a memorable character. Salinger encapsulated all the volatile angst and mad turmoil in young men's minds and just zapped his readers with his so profound emotional storytelling. Another favorite writer way back when was Herbert Gold. Yes, the man had a grand gift with words also, Herbert Gold's short stories were so full of good zing and great style. Also, another thought. I had two wonderful people in the English Department of the University of Georgia. One was a man named Don Barnett and the other was a woman named Lee Nicora. It was magnificent the way they propelled me into the interesting and so mysterious world that is the full of charm English language. But again let us all remember the powerful genius J.D. Salinger (who also penned the superb short novel, 'Franny and Zooey') died today. Let us feel reverence for a great man, Mr. J.D. Salinger.

Ke$ha and her music kickstarts the engine

Wild child or perhaps I should say high energy women singers are so interesting in our vividly textured culture. The brand new exciting female entertainer, Kesha (often, it's just Ke$sha) is a case in point. Recently she has surged ahead of another young woman in the music business, Lady Gaga. She has been getting an amazing amount of air play. I confess I just love high energy, exciting music and believe me Kesha can really come up with that kind of pulsating, exuberant and so good and brash techno sounds. I got a lot of fun listening to the strong good times voice of Fergie a while back. Lord, Fergie was good. But then along came a wondrous, sleek delightful music soul named Lady Gaga. It was a fact that our friend Lady Gaga helped us all get a super pick-me-up. But now there is Kesha, uh, I mean "Ke$ha" as she probably says. I saw her in a fine tv interview recently and she was so fiery and bubbly and just totally "right on." Our friend Kesha's huge hit song 'Tik Tok' has trounced the opposition. Lord, it has sold like mad. Just achieving super air play. Bet everyone wants to download this song. Top four singers on the good old airplay chart are yes indeed, women. But the sexy, wonderful Kesha is at the top, people. Enjoy shiny, feel good music cause it is a marvelous antidote for these rough economic times. I have lots of large, "whoop-it-up" fun with so hot lady singers like Kesha, Lady Gaga and Fergie. Have a great, high-energy day, people. This Kesha super set of sounds is so brand-spanking full of top-notch explosiveness. It knocks us out!

Pablo Picasso, an artist of fervent passion

An event in New York last Friday afternoon triggered again my long, intense fascination with the incredible, magical artistic genius of Pablo Picasso. The Friday event was when a woman attending an art class at the Metropolitan Museum of Art lost her balance and fell into a huge Picasso painting called, 'The Actor.' The extremely large canvas got a tear of about six inches in the lower right-hand corner. The museum people said the painting should be repaired soon and made ready for a grand Picasso event that is to open on April 27. 'The Actor' is a painting of an acrobat posing against an unusual backdrop. This circumstance reawakens in me many grand Picasso memories. When I was a student and living in an apartment in Athens, Ga. I had a fine Picasso print in the front room and it got many good comments from my friends. Pablo Picasso came from Spain but lived most of his life in France. His work is terrific because of its explosive varied nature. Indeed when he came to Paris his creativity soared tremendously. His "Blue" period with its mysterious colors so bright...Lord, the raw emotional majesty of these significant art experiences just totally overcome all of us. And of course his Cubism (a genre that he formed along with the magnificent Georges Braque) was so full of unique colors and such passion that it engulfs one's brain when a person takes it in. I know that Georges Braque has always a favorite of mine, also. Cubism is full of a clever dexterity that tends to mystify and yet sensually take us art enthusiasts in and make us feel we are enjoying a dance of Salome or something. Another grand time for me was when I saw the haunting Pablo Picasso work, a large painting called, 'Guernica.' It was wild for it showed the ideas that Picasso had about the visceral ravages of modern war. Indeed when a man sees 'Guernica' it overwhelms. It brings back many memories for me like when I heard the stories from my great friends, the C-130 pilots who had experienced the harsh combat missions in Vietnam in the late '60s. Pablo Picasso did a fantastic job depicting the war experience in his incredibly creative painting, 'Guernica.' It is tremendously memorable.

Lee Marvin's a mean business kind of guy!

I enjoy good mystery or thriller films or what a bunch of grand folks call the "film noir" category. The other night I watched a terrific 1967 film called 'Point Blank' with the superior tough guy actor Lee Marvin and the glamorous Angie Dickinson. This particular film takes us all on a huge ride through all kinds of juicy, nitty-gritty plot twists. There are superb performances by Keenan Wynn and Carroll O'Connor, also. Oh for sure this is a revenge movie. Lee Marvin has a stare that means business. A stare can work well in the cagey world of crime stories. This particular opus has two writers, Donald E. Westlake and Alexander Jacobs. I'm not too familiar with Mr. Jacobs. but I know Donald Westlake and he is one profoundly good wordsmith. I have read several Westlake novels and like the wonderful writer, Elmore Leonard, Westlake knows how to get the job done. And with the marvelous feminine Angie Dickinson in this one then an exciting film has been developed. The humor in 'Point Blank' is so subtle but the main thing is you have to remember this is a tough guy story. And believe me there are very few men who can pack a physical and emotional wallop like Lee Marvin. I had friends years ago who always asked me why I liked mystery films and stories. I figure the reason is when a person experiences very good terse prose then it has a tendency to really please one's literary soul. It's kind of like listening to the innovative rugged jazz arrangements of the superior stylist, Gil Evans, the fella who developed such great musical art with wonderful Miles Davis. I suppose some of my presumptious nihilist friends might think I am using too much fluff in this piece but I don't care what these souls say. What I Know is when a person experiences the fantastic acting art of Lee Marvin it is overwhelming.

The Grandiloquent Conan, Jay, NBC war

Fascinating this grand finesse drama of Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno and NBC. I think I am indeed so engrossed in all the biting satire and the loads of raw verbiage that are in a constant bombastic booming with all involved. The super talent of Conan O'Brien indeed the man, the Team Coco...well this guy deserves huge respect. In many moons there have been few culture wars that rival the ardent, vigorous showmanship that sizzles in the maddening saga of Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno and NBC. I like these bright 2 comic enfantes terribles and I hope all gets settled so all folks find themselves with a choice great deal soon. Also, let's please protect the musicians. Conan's band, the Max Weinberg aggregation is an especially fine group of musical guys. Old nemesis, TV, has brought me many chortles with the Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno and NBC ongoing cultural battles.

'Globes' show stimulating but a bit odd

Thoughts on the Golden Globes 2010:
This year's show was a lot of fun, but I confess for the life of me I cannot figure why Daniel Day-Lewis didn't snare a win for his work in 'Nine.' Also there is no doubt that Penelope Cruz did a fine job in 'Nine' with a sexy, delightful performance and yet she did not win. Daniel Day-Lewis and Penelope Cruz are superb, sensual artists. Modal variables aplenty in this year's Globe ghoulash. I guess the foreign press group is not so savvy about the unique variables going on in contemporary American cultural life. However, I was amused that Sandra Bulloch got a Globe. Good work by the clever woman from Texas. It was a rather wily show and a high mark was the finesse shown by Ricky Gervais, kind of running the show in his super-casual way.

Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine: So Fine!

Sarah Vaughan is a woman who knows how to really craft a song. Make it have meaning and some edge and I believe that is the kind of artist one can really enjoy. A man who can match Sarah Vaughan well in the singing business is the immaculate vocalist, Billy Eckstine. He did beautiful work in his time. I like a Sarah Vaughan and Billy Eckstine "Apollo" gig. The sounds are fresh and endearing. But I must confess when I heard the fine composition, 'Once in a While' today (by Sarah Vaughan) I was so tickled. It's good when musicians and singers make us happy. We need lots of joy nowadays. Jazz vocal styling is a great life experience.

Jim Hall, Sonny Rollins: Strong Jazz Guys

It makes me happy to hear a great jazz guitarist, a person who understands the creative flow that is truly needed in fine jazz artistry. Such a grand guitar man is Jim Hall. And when you pair the eloquent tenor saxophone guy Sonny Rollins with Jim Hall, well then it is a feisty, delightful musical experience. Sonny Rollins has such a huge persuasive tenor sound that is so compelling and when you pair the shiny and so flowing linear, improvisatory lines of Jim Hall with Sonny Rollins then this is a large superior recipe for stream of consciousness jazz success. This Hall and Rollins totality of sound can inspire, indeed nudge us on to new literary heights kind of make new Roths out of us souls who like to write. Listening today to Jim Hall and Sonny Rollins surely made my Sunday afternoon sparkle.

Blind Willie McTell packs raw blues wallop

Blind Willie McTell was one of the finest examples of passionate Georgia blues singers. Not only was the man a great blues vocalist he was also a superb guitarist. His clear finger-picking technique and good lyrics made him a grand example of early Twentieth Century blues work. In the late twenties and thirties this artist did a big amount of work for recording people who came to Atlanta. He got into working out with labels of the times like Vocalion, Bluebird, OKeh and then there was Columbia also. The best thing about Blind Willie McTell happens to be his amazing raw and so pure sound and also his great sense of beat. One of my favorite tunes of his I believe is 'Dying Crapshooters Blues.' Man that song sends me. It has a beat that is so wily, indeed so amazingly clever. When one listens to other Blues giants like Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy it is easy to see how much the man named Blind Willie McTell influenced these people. Those good fellas--Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy--also have a powerhouse strong sound just like the grand, McTell. I love Blues because it helps me to shake off a lot of the senseless cynicism so many quasi-thinkers have tried so hard to jam in my brain over the years. I know Blind Willie McTell (born in Thomson, Georgia on May 5, 1901) was a profound and blazingly creative man and we have all had our lives enriched by him.

Christina Aguilera's Interesting Style

A huge Wednesday hi to everyone. Listened today to one of my so very many fave singers...Christina Aguilera. This is the way for one to get the morning started right. The happy thing about joyous high-energy women artists is the fact they have the huge ability to get folks just super excited. Yeah, Christina Aguilera can surely do that. Also she has the good common sense to work with some fine back-up musicians. Like the powerful Lady Gaga and Shakira, our lady pal Christina Aguilera knows how to vividly captivate an audience. Of course, Lady Gaga with her clever innovations and Shakira with her sensational sensuality can also really get the super musical job done, also. Still Christina Aguilera helps start a soul's day just right and that is so RIGHT ON!

'Nine' Fills the Screen with Excitement

A few days ago, I saw an absolutely fantastic film, the new one called,'Nine.' What a delightful and so unusual piece of film art it was. I had read some rather pithy and so-so reviews on it. But when I saw it I realized these so-called film experts had no idea what they were seeing. So many cynics refuse to be thrilled for they want so much the ill-minded life of pseudo-intellectual blather. This film, 'Nine' is a depiction of the life of a genius Italian film director, Guido Contini, as played by Daniel Day-Lewis. The clever Daniel Day-Lewis does marvelous work in this one. The story has interesting dimensions because it digs deep into the man's emotional and creative dealings with all his contemporaries. It is fascinating in showing his dealings with his wife, Marion Cotillard, his mistress, Penelope Cruz and other women like Nicole Kidman (in the role of the actress, Carla) and the American journalist, Kate Hudson. Marion Cotillard has so much elegance in this work. Each woman in this film is wonderful in her own way. They are not just beautiful but show incredible depth in their emotional lives. Also, a quite exciting portion of all the characters' lives is that of the musical numbers for the music parts are integrated extremely well into the overall fabric of the story line. The director, Rob Marshall has accomplished a visual feast with this film. He and all the people deserve giant kudos. Another superb element of 'Nine' is the work of the grand Sophia Loren in the role of Guido's mother. The overall work of the fine, sensual Kate Hudson and the very clever and exciting Penelope Cruz is also tremendous. The film is heavily influenced by the great movie of Federico Fellini, his '8 and a half.' I love anything by Fellini, especially his 'La Dolce Vita.' But I confess the fact is I love this new thing, this vibrant so telling sleek film story of 'Nine' with its genuine, pumping wildisms, its sexy energy and of course its super-strong cinematic art power. It is a magnificent achievement.